The second day of testing at Chang International Circuit in Buriram was another pleasing one for Team SUZUKI ECSTAR as they debuted the brand new aerodynamic fairing, which both riders were able to test and provide valuable feedback for. Chang International, with its 1km long straight was an ideal place to try it out. During the day the team had the possibility to compare the extended fairing which they had used previously, and the new fairing which offers longer and shorter options.

Alex Rins was given the job of putting the newly designed aerodynamic package through its paces. The young Spaniard was happy and reported good feelings as he felt the benefits. Despite a crash he completed the day’s test in 7th place, less than half a second behind the day’s fastest rider.

Meanwhile Andrea Iannone concentrated mostly on other areas of bike set-up and finding his most comfortable settings. With 76 laps under his belt he was also able to work on tyre longevity, and once again he found a strong pace on a used tyre. He also had a minor crash, and ended the day +0.806 seconds from the top of the time sheet.

Team Manager Davide Brivio praised Suzuki’s hard work, especially around the new fairing, and was feeling positive about the overall progress as the team approach the final day of testing in Thailand.

Davide Brivio - Team Manager
“Another positive day today, we continued our work and both riders worked well despite both having very small crashes. Alex was happy when he tested the new aerodynamic package and it seems like it benefits him. So we will reconfirm tomorrow, and of course test again in Qatar, but it looks like Suzuki have made a very good job with this package and the riders feel the improvement. Today Andrea was testing other areas, but probably we will continue tomorrow with the new fairing for him. We are quite happy with the pace he found on a used tyre, and we didn’t try a time attack with Andrea today. Both riders are satisfied so we hope to finish well tomorrow.”

Alex Rins
“Today was a really positive test and we tried many things. As you can see, we tried the new fairing in its two versions and some new parts on the chassis and I think it was really good. With the new aerodynamic fairing, I felt better about the anti-wheelie. MotoGP bikes obviously have a lot of electronics but all the time that the front wheel is making contact with the track then we have more power, so it’s always better, this new fairing can help me to have more acceleration and more speed. The good thing also is that this new fairing allows me to have better anti-wheelie without major loss in the top speed. I had a crash during the day but luckily it was without consequences and I’m OK.”

Andrea Iannone
“Today we took some more positive steps and I’m satisfied. We had the new aerodynamic fairing available and it gave me a positive feeling initially but I couldn’t test it properly because I crashed in the early laps on the GSX-RR which was equipped with it. So after that we decided to give priority to other things, such as settings. Tomorrow we will try the new fairing again and we will be able to make some comparisons with the old one. Overall we are doing a good job, and the bike is behaving well with used tyres, but we have to find more performance with the new tyres. We will try to figure it out because over distance I feel confident and I have good pace, but to have speed in a single lap is very important for qualifying. The bike is improving run after run so it gives me confidence for tomorrow.”